Brandon Lloyd: A Journeyman’s inspiration

With apologies to Champ Bailey, his presence at in the NFL all-star game does little for the little guy. The journeyman. The never was.

Those types of players can try all they want, dream about elevating their game every waking hour, and they know they will never be like Champ Bailey.

It’s Brandon Lloyd’s selection that gives hope to Eric Decker and Tim Tebow, Bronco rookies last season, and Mario Haggan and Chris Kuper, veterans who plugged along with little acclaim, that they, too, can be honored as among the best.

Lloyd’s story here is one of perseverance. Never mind his three teams in six-year frustration to start his journey. Underrated in Lloyd’s comeback year was how he was treated like the 53rd man on the Broncos’ roster just last season. The first 14 games in the 16-game season, Lloyd didn’t get to wear his game jersey on Sunday.

A seven-year veteran, forced to carry on like a rookie practice-squad player.

“”It takes more than thinking about rainbows and unicorns and the pot at the end of the rainbow to accomplish what I did this year,’’ said Lloyd, who led the NFL with 1,448 receiving yards. “”There’s a certain level of humility that I brought into this year and an ability to never look at my situation as I was a victim.’’

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.